By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Water & Sewerage Corporation's (WSC) two trade unions are planning to stage a "wildcat withdrawal of enthusiasm" today amid claims staff morale is at an "all-time low".

Dwayne Woods, the Bahamas Utilities Service and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) president, said itself and the management union plan to co-operate with joint action as he revealed his members had also expressed fears that their workplace conversations were being "bugged" and recorded.

Such allegations were last week denied by Adrian Gibson, the Water & Sewerage Corporation's executive chairman, when they were made by middle management union members, and the state-owned utility's executives yesterday pledged they would not be distracted by Mr Woods' "frivolous and attention-seeking efforts" and claimed he was undertaking "a vendetta".

But, undaunted, Mr Woods yesterday promised: "Tomorrow [today], both unions will be outside. We will have a joint press conference and we will be wildcat-ing tomorrow. We’re going to be addressing a multiplicity of concerns. We’d like to call it a withdrawal of enthusiasm. Worker morale is at an all-time low right now. We will demonstrate that on Tuesday."

He confirmed that his members had also expressed fears about being placed under surveillance and eavesdropping, which Mr Gibson last week dismissed “baseless and absolutely false”.

Ednol Rolle, the Water & Sewerage Management Union’s (WSMU) president, had told this newspaper he had been “scared” by continuing complaints from his members that their workplace conversations were being listened into and recorded. He had called for the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to “sweep” the corporation’s offices for “illegal listening devices”.

“My members have reported similar concerns,” said Mr Woods. “We support the management union wholeheartedly.”

However, Elwood Donaldson, the Water & Sewerage Corporation's general manager, told Tribune Business yesterday: “We are not aware of any multiplicity of issues. The only issue is the outstanding industrial agreement and he hasn’t presented a proposal. It expired last year and we are awaiting a proposal.

"He has been making inconsistent and erroneous statements in the media over the past several weeks. We are not interested in being distracted from the great work that the corporation has undertaken by Mr Woods and his frivolous and attention-seeking exercises. Mr Woods needs to encourage his members to collectively strive to make the corporation better. He appears to be on a personal vendetta and it has become one.”